


Lifeline

by LavaGills



Series: Poussoso AUs [1]
Category: Orange is the New Black
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Texting, Wrong Number AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-03
Updated: 2016-09-03
Packaged: 2018-08-12 20:27:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7947883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LavaGills/pseuds/LavaGills
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(3:46) I really need you to get everyone in your neighborhood to sign the healthcare petition ASAP<br/>(3:46) The link is <span class="u">here</span><br/>(4:02) <strong>Holy shit did I accidentally subscribe to white people politics daily</strong></p><p>AKA the "I accidentally texted the wrong number" AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lifeline

Tuesday PM

 

(3:46) I really need you to get everyone in your neighborhood to sign the healthcare petition ASAP 

(3:46) The link is here

(4:02)  **Holy shit did I accidentally subscribe to white people politics daily**

(4:03) ????

(4:04) Meadow you know that this disproportionately affects POC

(4:04) Is this some kind of reacting to hecklers practice? Because it’s not funny

(4:04) We’re so behind our goal for signatures right now

(4:05) Is this because of our argument about Pema Chodron?

(4:05)  **I’m not meadow lmao**

(4:05) Because you were the one who said we were done talking about it and you were over it

(4:06) Oh

(4:06) I’m so sorry, I accidentally dropped my phone into a pot of chili when I was volunteering at a soup kitchen

(4:06) I did the thing on facebook where you ask everyone to comment their numbers?? But I guess meadow’s had a typo, she’s ALWAAAYS been a klutz on the keyboard 

(4:06) One time in an email she accidentally referred to herself as minnow, I was like “I thought I had the monopoly on water-themed names?”, it was so funny

(4:07) Oh yeah my name is brook, that’s kinda important to the story

(4:07) Anyways I’m super sorry about this

(4:10)  **Haha it’s np**

(4:10)  **Just thought I should give you a heads up before you told any personal info**

(4:11)  **Guess that didn’t stop u tho**

(4:13) Yeah. Hopefully you aren’t a serial killer or something

(4:13) Not that I think you seem like a serial killer, you seem really normal

(4:20)  **Uh thanks? Lol**

(4:21) I don’t know how’d you even track me down with just a first name anyways

(4:21) Unless you can track ip addresses to find out where my phone is, I heard hackers can do that now

(4:23)  **I’m pretty sure that’s with computers, ur safe**

(4:23) Ok, cool!

(4:24) Sorry, are you mad at me?

(4:26)  **Nah I’m mostly a winning combination of confused and amused**

(4:26) You’re a poet and you didn’t even know it! XD

(4:27) Because confused and amused rhyme, I mean

(4:34) **lol yeah**

(4:35) Ok, well I should probably actually text meadow now

(4:35) I told her I’d text her before 9 and if I’m late she’s going to get annoyed at me

(4:39)  **Yeah ok, good luck stranger**

(4:40) Thanks!

 

\----

 

Saturday AM

 

(1:03) **Heyy you**

(1:09) **Yuooooooo**

(1:14) **BITCH W THE PETITTION**

(1:17) Excuse me??

(1:18) **Hahaha knew u wer up**

(1:20) Are you drunk? This is really inappropriate to send to someone you don’t know.

(1:23) **Shhiiiiit**

(1:23) **Shit im sorry**

(1:24) **Ur right, imma go**

(1:26) Uh ok? Bye.

 

\----

 

Saturday PM

 

(2:31)  **Uh, so this might seem super weird but the petition online you were talking about?**

(2:31)  **With the healthcare and shit**

(2:32) **I signed it**

(2:32) **As like, an apology for getting absolutely shitfaced and texting you for** **some reason**

(2:32) **You don’t have to text back if you don’t want to, but I just thought I should let u kno**

(2:33) **yeah**

(3:11) Sorry for responding late, I was just checking to see if you actually did

(3:11) Thanks

(3:12) I mean, I probably would’ve appreciated if you decided to put an actually name instead of a misspelling of pussy to get past the censors

(3:12) But middle age humor aside….it was nice

(3:13)  **Uh Poussey is my name**

(3:13) **I was named after a place in france where my dad served**

(3:14) [ **https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poussay**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poussay)

(3:14) **yeah I know the spellings different but I’m being real with u**

(3:15) OH MY GOD

(3:15) I’m so sorry I didn’t know

(3:15) There are just so many seventh grade assholes that I’ve just started amusing the worst in everyone

(3:16) There are not that many people named Mike Rotch and Hugh Jass and “Peniz Upyabutt”

(3:16) Seriously though I’m so sorry!!!

(3:19) **Haha don’t worry I’ve heard that before**

(3:20) Still that was awful of me to assume, you haven’t been immature this entire time

(3:22) **yeah drunk texting you at 1 am, that was super mature**

(3:24) uh yeah, except for that.

(3:24) Sorry, did that sound like a judgment?

(3:24) I didn’t mean it like I was judging you for getting drunk!

(3:24) People can do whatever they want with their own bodies

(3:27)  **No ur good, girl**

(3:28) **Seriously chill out I ain’t gonna start hating on u for some offhand comment lol**

(3:28) Right, sorry….

(3:28) I’ve just been in a lot of drama with my friend group lately

(3:29) I’ve almost forgotten that some comments really can be interpreted as “no big deal”

(3:31)  **It’s fine**

(3:31) **Sorry about ur friend drama**

(3:31) **That shit happens u just gotta push thru it**

(3:32) Yeah, thanks

(3:39) **Np**

\----

 

Wednesday PM

 

(7:01) Hey

(7:24)  **Hey?**

(7:25) So what’s your opinion on goldfish?

(7:29)  **Uh, idk, they’re fine**

(7:29) What about betta fish? I think they’re kinda cool looking

(7:31)  **Lmao ok**

(7:32) Are you not a huge fan of fish? I had one friend who hated them, always insisted that gerbils and hamsters were cooler.

(7:35) Hbu? Do you like hamsters?

(7:41)  **Yeah I guess**

(7:41) **Why are you asking me about this shit?**

(7:43) Sorry, I gtg

(7:45)  **Alright, bye**

\----

 

Friday PM

 

(10:46) Ok, so you get drunk sometimes right?

(10:46) What’s the best way to do it?

(10:47) I looked it up online and it seems like I should eat very little food and then take a bunch of shots

(10:51)  **Yeah that’d prob work**

(10:51) **Also that sugary shit is good for getting a bunch of alcohol in**

(10:52) **Why r u trying to get drunk? U going to a party?**

(10:53) Not exactly

(10:55) **Lmao what’s that supposed to mean**

(10:55) Uh, it’s none of your business???

(10:57) **What? U texted me**

(10:58) yeah I have no idea why I thought that was a good idea

(10:58) oh wait I do! It’s because all of my friends hate me hahahahaha

(10:58) just fucking forget about it

(11:00) **are you ok? You want to talk about it?**

(11:01) what part of fucking forget about it did you not get

(11:02)  **Every part, because it makes no fucking sense why you think you can tell me shit like that and then not expect me to worry**

(11:13) **Hello???**

(11:17) **You’ve fucking quintuple texted me don’t think I won’t do the same**

(11:18) Oh my god, of course I drive away everyone I know and then the one person I’m TRYING to get rid of just won’t go away

(11:19)  **Ok you don’t have to talk to me about it but can you just not get drunk and shit?**

(11:20) **You’re ten kinds of emotionally fucked up and trying to escape with alcohol, but**

(11:20) **Take it from me that’s not a good path to take**

(11:22) **Brook, please**

(11:23) Fine.

(11:24) I’m going to sleep

(11:24) **Thank god**

(11:25) **Uh, good night.**

\----

 

Saturday AM

 

(10:34)  **Hey, you awake?**

**\----**

Sunday PM

(1:36)  **Hey**

**\----**

Monday PM

(5:05)  **So what’s your opinion on betta fish? I think they’re crazy and violent as shit, but I do admit they’re kinda cool looking**

\----

 

Tuesday PM

(4:41) **Ok I’m not gonna bother u anymore. I just hope ur ok**

\----

 

Friday PM

 

(11:01) **Heyyyyy brooookkkk**

(11:01) **Guess whos such a fuckin hypocrite**

(11:02) **I can talk all I want about not drinkin just bcuz of freind issues**

(11:03) **But I still do it it anywy**

(11:04) **Hahaha what a joke**

**\----**

Saturday AM

 

(10:04) Sorry for not responding 

(10:04) As you can probably guess there’s a bunch of personal drama I’m dealing with

(10:06) Are you ok??

(10:31) Poussey?

 

\----

 

Saturday PM

 

(1:21)  **Oh yeah im fine**

(1:22)  **Hbu? All that shit still going down?**

(1:27) Yeah, but I kinda wanted to talk about you.

(1:27) Please don’t just say you’re fine

(1:29)  **But I am pretty damn fine ;)**

(1:29) **Seriously it’s nbd, what’s going on with minnow and the school of fish**

(1:30) Hahaha did you remember my story? That’s so funny XD

(1:30) I still want to talk about you though

(1:31) Ooh what if we did a game?

(1:31) Like, I tell you a bit about my problems and you tell me a bit of yours?

(1:31) I did a similar thing in meditation once where we visualized handing our problems to eachother

(1:31) It just makes you feel so light having someone help you carry it

(1:49) Hello?

(2:11) Sorry, that was a dumb idea

(2:24) Ok bye.

(5:10)  **Shit brook no that was a good idea**

(5:11)  **I was just texting in the middle of chilling w friends and they made me put it away since I was making them lose at charades**

(5:15) It’s fine, you don’t have to make up excuses

(5:15) I don’t know why I thought you’d want to tell a random stranger about your problems

(5:17)  **I’m telling the truth I swear**

(5:17)  **Look I’ll go first**

(5:19)  **Ok, so I’ve been feeling kinda distant from my friends for a while**

(5:19)  **Basically** **a bunch of shit went down with someone who was basically my friend’s mom**

(5:19)  **And it sucked**

(5:20)  **I was pretty much fucking exiled from the group for a while**

(5:20)  **One bitch punched me in the face**

(5:21)  **Anyway we figured that shit out eventually, I made up with my best friend.**

(5:22)  **But she never wants to fucking talk about it**

(5:22)  **Idk I guess we were raised differently because shes fine with bottling that shit up but I can’t just ignore what happened y’know**

(5:24)  **Anyway long story short I’m feeling lonely as fuck**

(5:25)  **Yeah ok its ur turn**

(5:28) Thanks for telling me

(5:28) Alright, here I go

(5:29) I was arrested for a peaceful protest I did one day, which wasn’t a big deal, that happens sometimes. But this time it was actually a bigger deal than usual and I had to go to court for weeks and I honestly let my lawyer handle most of that. I had to pay all these fees while my friends were out spending their money on organic hemp shirts or whatever. I used to sit in this waiting room with my lawyer’s other clients and I started talking to them

(5:29) And some of them talked back and had awful stories and were just totally screwed over by all sorts of institutions. And these were the people I was supposed to be fighting for in all of my protests. So on one hand I was isolated from my friends because of all the time I spent away from them, and then when I came back I had a different point of view because I wanted to actually make a change

(5:30) And they kept telling me to calm down and not worry as much about it but they never actually talked to the people that I talked to and I don’t think they ever actually cared like I do. It’s like all this talk of making the world a better place was just for show because it was “in” or something and now they get mad whenever I do the slightest thing to criticize the way they’re acting

(5:30) And they all thought the legal battle was badass like law and order or something but it was mostly just exhausting

(5:30) So yeah I’ve been heckling Meadow and the others for weeks to try and get them sign this healthcare petition because stuff like that matters so much more now

(5:31) And then I texted you

(5:34)  **How the fuck did you type all of that shit in less than three minutes**

(5:34)  **I mean, thanks for telling me**

(5:35) Yeah, I babble a lot and it kinda carried over to texting….

(5:35) On the plus side all that typing makes me really good at thumb wars

(5:36)  **Lmao I bet**

(5:37) thanks for listening, it was nice to get that out

(5:37) Also, thanks for not thinking my idea was stupid

(5:39)  **thanks for not having a stupid idea**  

(5:40) **actually it was kind of a good idea**

(5:40)  **I think I feel a bit better now**

(5:42) I’m glad it helped :)

(5:42) I wish I could talk more but I really gtg

(5:45) **See ya**

(5:46) **And uh feel free to text me again**

(5:46) **If u want**

(5:50) thanks, I think I might

 

**\----**

 

Monday PM

 

(8:53) I’m dead

(8:53) I’m actually dead

 

\----

 

Tuesday AM

 

(12:14)  **What happened?**

(12:15) I spent aaaalll day standing on a corner giving out flyers

(12:15) The sun was just beating down on my head and I think because I have black hair it trapped the heat because my scalp felt like it was burning

(12:05) And I only gave away three fliers, and one of them was to a girl who immediately threw it into the trash! While maintaining eye contact!!

(12:15) It’s a really important duty and everything but it can just tire me out, I honestly feel like all the life’s been sucked out of me

(12:17)  **Wow rip u**

(12:17)  **Don’t worry I’ll visit ur grave and leave a bunch of roses and dandelions and shit**

(12:18) I’m pretty sure dandelions are a weed

(12:20)  **Oh, good idea, I’ll plant weed on ur grave**

(12:20)  **Have a side business selling shit while I sit on ur gravestone and weep**

(12:21) If you try to sell marijuana off of my grave plot I’ll come back as a zombie and kill you

(12:21) I have like really sharp nails, you should be afraid

(12:22)  **Nah I shouldn’t, you’d be high as fuck from all the weed I’ve been growin**

(12:22)  **Bumping into things and shit as I run away screaming**

(12:23)  **Well lightly jog I guess, you ain’t gonna be goin that fast**

(12:24) That’s not how marijuana works!!!

(12:25)  **Ur trying to start the zombie apocalypse over there but ur critiquing** _ **my**_ **realism?**

(12:26) Haha I guess you’re right

(12:26) Anyway I think I should mention I like it when you do that

(12:29)  **Do what? lol**

(12:30) Sometimes I say something dumb or annoying

(12:30) Like saying dandelions are a weed when it wasn’t really relevant or talking about coming back as a zombie

(12:30) But then you respond to it in a funny way that somehow makes it retroactively less dumb and annoying

(12:30) Like, some of my friends will ignore it and move past it, which I always thought was nice

(12:30) But you build off it, which I think I like better

(12:32)  **thanks**

(12:32)  **I like what you do too**

(12:33)  **I mean u just straight up talk about ur feelings, that’s actually kinda rare lol**

(12:35) I’ve read a lot of advice columns that said that bottling up feelings can have negative effects on your health so I try to avoid that.

(12:35) I can send you the links, if you’d like

(12:39)  **Yeah sure send them my way**

(12:39)  **But I gtg sleep now, I have to work early tomorrow**

(12:39)  **It was nice talking to you again**

(12:39)  **Like, for real**

(12:41) Yeah, same here :)

(12:42)  **Wow it seems like every convo turns into some emotional venting**

(12:43)  **Not that it’s a bad thing, don’t worry**

(12:43)  **Anyway goodnight**

(12:45) Goodnight!!

 

\----

 

Thursday PM

 

(6:13)  **ok so random question**

(6:20) shoot!

(6:21)  **If u could go anywhere in the world, where would u wanna go**

(6:22) Hmmmm

(6:25) That’s a hard one

(6:25) On one hand, I’ve always wanted to travel to the mountains to commune with nature and find peace within myself

(6:25) Maybe volunteer to help with disadvantaged Appalachian children

(6:26) But lately I think I might just wanna go somewhere fun

(6:26) Like Fiji! The place where they get those fancy water bottles from, you know?

(6:26) I’d go and just hang out in one of those houses that look over the water

(6:27) How about you?

(6:27)  **Shit yeah Fiji sounds nice**

(6:28)  **Idk I already travelled a lot when I was younger so there are some places I’d love to go back to**  

(6:28)  **But going someplace new sounds nice too**

(6:30) Ooh, where have you travelled?

(6:32)  **Uh lots of different place in Germany france and the US**

(6:32)  **Perks of being an army brat lmao**

(6:34) Wow, I had no idea you've been all those places 

(6:35)  **Uh surprise?**

(6:36) we really know nothing about eachother

(6:36) it’s kinda weird that we’re still texting, isn’t it?

(6:41)  **Yeah I guess**

(6:41)  **I can go**

(6:41) No! I didn’t mean it like that

(6:42) I like talking to you! I really, really do

(6:42) It’s just weird to think we’ve never actually met, you know?

(6:43)  **Yeah I know what u mean**

(6:43)  **Idk what u even look like lol**

(6:44) I could send you a pic

(6:45) Would that be weird?

(6:46) That’d probably be weird.

(6:48)  **Uh no I think it’s normal for friends to know what each other looks like**

(6:55)  **Brook? U there?**

(6:56) Yeah I’m here

(6:56) Ok I’m sending u a pic that I took at phish concert a while back

(6:56) It’s the only one of just me I have saved on my phone

(6:58)  **Cool, thanks**

(6:58)  **Now I can stop envisioning u as that one wrinkled old hippie that smokes weed behind the mcdonalds**

(6:59) Hahaha I hope I’m prettier than that wrinkled old hippie

(6:59)  **You are**

(6:59)  **Uh anyway here’s one of me I guess**

(7:05) It’s nice to finally put a face to a name

(7:06)  **Yeah**

(7:06)  **Well I actually gtg now**

(7:06) And for the record I think you’re pretty too

(7:07) Oh

(7:07) Yeah ok, bye

(7:08)  **Uh thanks**

(7:08)  **Yeah**

(7:08)  **See ya**  

(7:09) Bye

(7:13)  **can we text again tomorrow?**

(7:13)  **I mean, if you’re free?**

(7:13) Yes!

(7:14) Feel free to text at any time

(7:15)  **Ok, cool**

(7:15) Yeah, cool

(7:16)  **Uh, bye again**

(7:17) Goodbye :)

 

\----

 

Friday PM

 

(8:34)  **hey, what r u up to?**

(8:36) I’m taking a night to myself

(8:36) I have a big bowl of ice cream and I’m watching back to the future :)

(8:37)  **Oh shit no way!**

(8:37)  **I fucking LOVED that movie when I was younger no joke**

(8:37)  **For a solid year I thought it was real**

(8:38)  **I always brought a backpack full of supplies everywhere I went just in case the delorean swooped in and took me on an adventure**

(8:38)  **Don’t know what a pocketknife would’ve done against a fucking t rex but seven year old me was ready to try**

(8:39) Hahahaha that’s great

(8:40) Though you might’ve created a paradox by accidentally killing a dinosaur that was somehow vital to the evolution of humans

(8:42)  **Well shit there go all my fantasies**

(8:43) I mean you could still go on adventures! But maybe to the future instead

(8:43) I’ve always thought the future was much more exciting than the past anyway

(8:43) Less disease, more social progress, planetary exploration….

(8:44)  **Hyper realistic robots to do all your shit for you**

(8:45) Haha those too

(8:45)  **maybe I should start actually planning for the future**

(8:46)  **Get an actual job other than the minimum wage shit I have now**

(8:46)  **I’ve been putting off planning for a while, but I think I should prob start**

(8:48) I personally think that’s a great idea

(8:48) Having concrete plans for the future is an important step for feeling like you’ve got your life together

(8:49) It was for me, at least

(8:51)  **Yeah, sounds about right**

(8:51)  **Honestly, im kinda nervous**

(8:51)  **Who knows what the future will hold**

(8:53) It can be really scary

(8:53) But trust me

(8:53) I think it’ll be good

(8:54)  **Yeah**

(8:54)  **I think so too**


End file.
